Driving means for detector rolls in grading machines



C. C. THOMAS June 3, 1952 DRIVING MEANS FOR DETECTOR ROLLS IN GRADINGMACHINES Filed Jul :5, 1947 2 Sl-IEETS-SI-IEET 1 J27 UeWZor June 3, 1952c, c, THOMAS 2,598,858

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented June 3, 1952 DRIVING MEANS FOR DETECTOR ROLLSIN GRADING MACHINES.

Charlcs C. Thomas, Medford, Masa, assignor to LaceneManufacturing.Corporation. Lawrence, Mass a corppration of New)Hampshire pplication July 1947, Serial N9! 58 543 .01am. (or ions Mypresent invention relates to adin machines of the kind which gradedied-out-blanksof leather such as soles, taps, heellifts, counters orother blanks, in accordance with the thickness of the thinnest spot asdetermined bya detector roll. More particularly my present inventionrelatesto improved driving means between the main drive and the detectorroll being an improvement over the Letters Patent No. 1,820,010 grantedto Cogs.- Well August 25, 1931.

The principal object of: my present invention is to produce animproveddrive for the gaugeor detector roll;

Another object is to provide an improved drive for the detector rollwhich reduces the frictionon th driving gears and between the leathersole blanks and the rolls and at the same time reduces the load on themachine thereby increasing the efliciency and accuracy of the gradingoperation, and

Other objects and novel features will be apparent as the description ofthesame progresses.

Referring more in detail to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectionv and end elevation of the gradingmachine as viewed inthe area of the detector roll and drive. rollgears;-

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic fragmentary crosssection of the driving gears,as set forth in. the Cogswell Patent No. 1,820,010 showing the previousmeans of compensating for difierences in the speeds of the two gearshafts;

Fig. 3 is a similar diagrammatic fragmentary cross-section of thedriving gears asset forth in the Cogswell Patent No. 1,820,010 showingthe lag in the movement of th lower gear with respect to that of itsshaft during the passage of a blank between the rolls;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic fragmentary crosssection taken on line 4-4 ofFig. 1 showing my improved means for compensating for the lag in themovement of the lower or detector roll gear with respect to that of itsshaft during the passage of a blank between the rolls;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section similar to Fig. 4 but showing adifferent position of the gears etc. during th passage of the blankbetween the rolls;

Fig. 6 is another fragmentary cross-section similar to Fig. 4 butshowing a still'different position of the lower gauge or detector rollgear and shaft, and also showing the shoe sole blank in dot-and-dashlines passing between the rolls,

Fig. '7 is still another fragmentary cross-section similar to Fig. 4 butshowing another position of the detector roll gear and shaft, the shoesole blank having passed completely through the roll 'Referringtoithedrawings and particularly'to Fig. 1, the upper gauge roll In .isjo'urnalled in the bearings H' and 12. These be rings are fixed to theframe of the machine a portion of which is indicated at l3. Powertooperate the gauge rolls QQ Z YQQ FP e haft '4 a d thence s" n mitte bhed'e e bbrjs b b 0 I5 bi ns of the gears l6, l1 and wand 19 at'such'times when there is no shoe sole blank'passing between the upper gaugeroll I0 and the lower detector gauge. r o 1l I5. When there is a shoesole blank pas ng, e ween t r l s mend t e s oe s blank drives the rollI5 and the gears 16, I11, and L and I3 ar i ef ective as. iving. or diven Inenr bens. This feature will be more fully disqn eediu thera qnein the spec bat q The uppe u 911 I ls fi e t f he lr shaft l4; and thelower detector gaug roll 15 is fixedto the shaft Isa. Bearin s zu'anglare movable vertically in the frame of the machine andthe roll] 5 ismaintained in a predetermined ni h .p s i n- .x p when depressed y 1Sole blan b man e hel srs 2.2 a 23'- In fect he roll 15 andshait IBaarefreefloatinga n times andmay tilt out ofvparallelrelatiolii withroll lfl when influenced by a sole blank inpassage e ween thetwo rolls.This is well known construb bb sbb n n. cb 2 issued Sept m e 3. 192 e aB ier taeu usb a 193 se forth inv og wsl Nb libzqblil it had n thepractice to mate t e e d n and de e i r0118 la d lie the same diameter,as best illustrated in enrlier patents to Nichols and well known in theart. .S qb IQ l we e usual y c necte b mea s of rdinar spur e r of a drd rm sha w th tee h. o u cient eng h to eiraib interm s atall times, duhe m v mbnibi ba si bn Qil e f eding. and-dete tin rol s where:- by h tb e o 1 tate u e l as l iiel ven bbrbush d e r n by t ubsbr rb 10, 1 wth is. dr vel-1-3mm t e main r ve shatt 1.4. By rea n ii-the const ntrel t ve mb emsn between bb eeers Q bs We se uri th t ct n -enemies of.h machine as the yieldin m lmove up. abddown t e is. a onsta t. rubbinsenga em be vgen the. tee h oft e tw sets of gears w gb sults n f ic ion,and unde rable resist n e n th movem nts of the y eldi roll. du tothe-me h n of. heears.-

When auge rol s of the same diameter are us d as old r machines it squite apparen that when. a shoe sole blank is passed through the rolls,the driving. or uppergauge roll has. autoroll 25.

3 matically been increased in diameter because of the thickness of theblank which is in direct pressure contact with the lower roll l5,therefore the gear ratio changes and the angular speed of the lower rollis greater than the upper driving roll. Because of this condition thegear teeth having a one to one ratio begin to jam. The only relief undersuch conditions is slippage of the blank on the lower roll whichincreases the load on the machine and effects the quality of thegrading.

In Cogswell No. 1,820,010, dated August 25, 1931, an attempt was made tocorrect this difficulty and to provide a' construction in which thelower yielding roll was driven by the upper roll through gearing in theusual way when no blank was between the rolls, but in which the instanta blank entered between the rolls the gears were automaticallydisengaged one from the other and remained disengaged to rotate out ofcontact with one another during the passage of the blank between therolls, the lower yielding roll being rotated'as an idler roll by directfrictional contact with the passing blank. Due to the fact that it isimpossible to establish dimensions so that a machine will'operateequally 'well on all of the various "lengths and thicknesses of blankswhich must be graded, the difierence in fixed diameters of the gaugerolls taken alone does not work out satisfactorily,

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the means used in the Cogswell Patent No.1,820,010 designed to correct the difiiculty. Rolls 25 and 26 are fixedto respectiveshafts 25a and 26a. It will be noted that roll 26 issmaller in diameter than roll 25. Gears '21 and 28- are fixed to theshafts 25a. and 26a.

When the sole blank B is passing between the rolls 25 and 26,-the lowerroll 26 is caused to rotate at' an angular speed slightly faster thanroll 25. The spur gears 21 and 28 instead of being of ordinaryconventional form of gears are specially shaped, as illustrated in Figs.2 and 3. The front or active faces 29 of the upper or driving gearteeth, considered with reference to the direction of rotation of thegears as indicated by the arrows, are of conventional form and engagethe rear or active faces 30 of the lower gear 28 which are also ofconventional form, to drive the lower roll 26 in the usual way when noblank is between the rolls 25 and 26. The rear or inactive faces 3! and32 of the respective gears 2'1 and Rare cut away or mutilated in orderto provide spaces or clearances between the teeth at that side. I

Before and at the time when the blank B is presented to the feeding anddetecting rolls, the

teeth of each pair of gears are in intermeshed engagement and the gear28 is being driven by the gear 2! in the usual way, but as soon as theforward end of the blank B has entered between the two 1'O11S,'1Jh8blank is carried forward by the upper roll 25 alone, the slightlysmaller roll 26 turning over with the movement of the blank B but at aslightly greater angular speed than the Fig. 2 shows the position of thegears before the blank B enters between the rolls or at the instant whenthe blank enters the nip of the roll. Fig. 3 shows the approximateposition of r the gears when the blank B is partially through the rolls.From the instant the blank B enters between the rolls the teeth of gear28 will be moved ahead of the teeth of the gear 21 by reason of theslightly greater speed of the smaller roll 26, so that there will be noengagement between the teeth of. the gears 21 and 28 during'the passageof the blank between the feeding roll 25 and the detecting roll 26. Thisleaves the lower detecting roll 26 free to follow the irregularities ofthe blank B without any resistance from the meshing of the gearsimmediately after the blank enters the rolls. 7

This earlier improvement works successfully for certain size and typeblanks. Unfortunately it is impossible to establish standard dimensionsof the parts so that the mechanism described will operate equally wellon all the various lengths and thicknesses of blanks which must begraded. If the ratio of the roll diameters is too nearly unity, theadvantage of the device will be lost, because on short blanks the gearsmay never get a chance to move out of contact. On the other hand, if theratio is much greater than unity, the lower roll will turn so muchfaster than the upper roll that the mutilated side of the succeedingtooth may overtake the tooth of the upper gear before the blank isgraded. This is most apt to occur on the longer or thinner blanks. Ifthis takes place when the blank still has some distance to travel in therolls, jamming is bound to occur. The gear teeth are then forcedtogether with extreme pressure. This situation can only be relieved bythe occurrence of slippage between the roll and the leather blank. Theadverse effect of this occurrence upon accurate grading is apparent notto mention the greatly increased load on the machine at this stage andfrictional wear on the gear-teeth as evidenced by an inspection ofmachines which have been in service for sometime. The mutilated faces ofthe gear teeth which supposedly never come into contact actually showmuch wear.

In my present invention I have obviated this condition. In theCogswellPatent 1,820,010, the differenc in angular rotation of the tworolls is limited to approximately six degrees by the dimension of thegears. In my improved device using the same size gears the difierence inangular rotation is thirty times or more as great Because of this resultit is permissible to increase the dinerence in the diameters of the twogauge rolls materially. This result makes the action more positive, andinsures the freedom of movement of the lower roll without anyinterference whatsoever between the gears. In the present invention asshown in Figs. 4 to '7 inclusive, as in the said Cogswell patent, theupper guage roll 10 is made with a diameter greater than the lowerdetector roll I5 but the difference in diameter of these two rolls isvery much more pronounced. In my improved device the gear teeth are ofthe wringer type and are not mutilated. The lower gauge roll gear I9,instead of being attached rigidly to the shaft 15a, is rotatable on theshaft fora limited angular rotation of over one hundred and eightydegrees. The roll in is fixed to the shaft M which is a positive driveshaft. The teeth of gear I8 are always in mesh with the teeth of thegearI 9; j

Referring more specifically to the improvement as set forth in Figs. 4 7inclusive, Fig. 4 shows the upper gauge roll gear I8 meshed with thelower detector roll gear l9 rotating in the direction of the arrows. Asole blank A- is travelling across the table T from right to left andabout to enter between the rolls |0;and' I5. In this position attentionis directedto thegear- [9 upon the side of. which'is fixed a stop member35. While no blank is being passed between the rolls l0 and I5 the shaftI5a is driven only by the gear I9 from gear.1l8, but only when the stopmember 35 which is attached to the gear rlsis'in engagement with the keymember. 36"fixedto"the shaft 15a by means ofv the machine screw 31. Thisis the position shown in Fig." 4. Inthis position the shaft I5a isanidling shaft and being driven by the gear I9. When the'blank Aenters thebite area of the .roll Hithe drive of'the shaft I50 automatically shiftsfrom theJgear 19 'to' the roll It the radius being the lower side of thesole blank A'.- As pointed out previously there is a marked differencein the diameters of rolllO and roll l5, roll !5 being somewhatsmallerin' diameter than roll I consequently theangular'speed of roll ismaterially increased'with respect to roll it. The speed of gears l8and'laremain constant but the speed of thedetector roll gear shaft l5ahas been increased 'over the roll I6 therefore the shaft l0 and the keymember 36 immediately pull away from the stop member 35 fixed on thegear 19. This effect which is slightly magnified for the sake of clarityis illustrated in Fig. 5 in which the blank A has progressedto a certainpoint through the rolls I6 and 15. In this figure it will be noted thatthe bottom of thescleblank A which is now the driver of roll [5 haspulled the key 35 away from the gear stop 3'6iandiis independentlydriving the roll [5 and shaft 50, and at this point the gear IB ismerely idling on the shaft Hi, there bein no loadon the gear I8. Thenthe gear I3, together with the shaft l5'a,.is free to rise and fall withrespect to the gear 18 without any appreciable friction or back-lashbeing present in the machine. Fig. 6 illustrates another more advancedposition of the passage of the blank A through the rolls l6 and I5 inwhich the gears l8 and [9 are in-mesh but not carrying any load, and inwhich the detector roll shaft I5a has drawn farther away from theengagement with the gear 18 as shown in Fig. 4. In Fig. '7 the soleblank A has passed through the rolls l6 and I5 and the detector roll I5is no longer being driven by the upper gauge roll I0. At this particularpoint the detector roll I5 is at rest and not rotating; however, this isfor a very short interval of time. As previously stated the upper rollI6 is continuously driven by means of the main drive shaft M, and as thegear I8 is fixed to the shaft I4 it also is in continuous rotation. Thegear l9 being in direct mesh with the gear l8 continues to rotate on thedetector roll shaft 15a until interrupted. This occurs when the gearstop member 35 catches up with the key member 36 fixed in the shaft 15aof the detector roll l5. In Fig. '7 I have illustrated the position ofthe driving and driven elements during the interval between the exit ofone blank and the time of presentation of the next blank to the rolls,as shown in Fig, 4. Referring back to Fig. 7 the the shaft I5a is notnow rotating but the gear I 9 is rotating continuously and the stopmember 35 is approaching the key 36 of shaft [5a, as indicated by thearrows. When the stop member 35 engages the key 36 of shaft I5a theshaft l5a will rotate to approximately that position shown in Fig. i.The exact position of the key 36 on the shaft |5a and the stop member 35on the gear 19 as shown in the drawing may vary in actual practice, thepositions shown being illustrative only. Also any type of gear tooth maybe substituted for the wringer type shown in the drawings. I prefer thewringer type tooth for certain reasons but the device is not limited toany one type.

My present invention differs considerably over the said Cogswellimprovement in that the lower detector roll gear I 9 operates: at all.times ,at-the same angular speed as the 'uppergauge'roll gear I8 therebeing no lost motion between" the two gears whilethe lower detector rollshaft l5a operates only when a sole. blank .is between. the rolls orwhen'the stop member,35"i s in'engagement with the key 36 on the. shaft"itaasshown in Fig. 1.

Other means may be substitutedfor the specific key in'the shaft [5a orthe specific stop .35.on the gear I9, or the key 36 on the shaft l5a mayvary in angular dimension or the stop member 35 on the gear lflmaybemu'ch widerin angular dimension. In fact, the device may be modif edinactujal practice and proportions altered'withiniwide limits whilestill'rernaining within'th'espirit of the app nded l ims the dra ngs bin illustrative onlyrandnot limiting.

Having thusdescribed 1 my invention" what I claim as new is:

1. Ina machinefor. grading shoe sole blanks, a gauge roll driving shaft,a gauge roll fast on the driving shaft, a vdrivin'ggear fixed "tothedriving shaft at one side of the gauge roll, a second shaft yieldablysupported in spaced relationto the driving shaft, a detectorroll ofsmaller diameter than the gauge roll'fixed to the second shaft, a drivengear rotatably mounted on the second shaft in position to mesh with thedriving gear, a pair of cooperating stop elements located between thedetector roll and'the driven gear for operatively connecting thesemembers together, oneof the stop elements being free to move ahead ofthe remaining stop element in response to anincrease in speed ofrotation of the detector roll over that of the gauge roll.

2. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks a gauge roll driving shafthaving a driving gear fixed thereon, a gauge roll fast on the shaft atone side of the driving gear, a second shaft yieldably supported inspaced relation to the driving shaft, a driven gear mounted on thesecond shaft in a position to mesh with the driving gear, said drivengear being rotatable on its shaft, a stop member on said shaft, a secondstop member located on the driven gear in a position to engage with thestop member on the shaft and limit rotative movement of the driven gearthereon, a detector roll mounted on the second shaft in close proximityto the gauge roll, the detector roll being relatively smaller indiameter than the gauge roll and adapted to move relative to the drivengear at speeds which vary in accordance with the speed of the gauge rollthereby to relieve stress between the driving gear and the driven gearwhen the detector roll engages a shoe sole blank.

3. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks,

a drive shaft having a gauge roll and a driven gear fixed thereon, asecond driven shaft yieldably supported in spaced relation to the driveshaft, a detector roll of smaller diameter than the gauge roll, mountedon the second shaft, in close proximity to gauge roll and arranged torotate at speeds which vary in accordance with the speeds of the gaugeroll, a driven gear rotatably mounted on the second shaft, stop meansfor operatively connecting the detector roll with the driven gear, saidstop means including an abutment on the driven gear and a stop elementmovable with the detector roll from a position of contact with one sideof the abutment member to a position of contact with an opposite sidethereof, said driven gear operating to intermittently transfer powerfrom the driving shaft to the driven shaft in response to change inposition of the detector roll and shaft relative to the driven gear.

4. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks, an upper gauge roll fixedon a drive shaft member, a relatively smaller detector roll mounted on asecondshaft which is yieldably supported in spaced relation to the firstdrive shaft member, a fixed gear on the drive shaft in mesh with arotatable gear on the second shaft, stop means for operativelyconnecting the rotatable gear to its respective shaft, said stop meansincluding an abutment on the rotatable gear and a second stopelement'movable with the detector roll away from the abutment said gearmeans operating to intermittently transfer power from the driving shaftto the driven shaft in response to change in position of the detectorroll on its respective shaft.

5. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks a gauge roll driving shaft,a gauge roll fast on the driving shaft, a driving gear fixed to thedriving shaft at one side of the gauge roll, a second shaft yieldablysupported in spaced relation to the driving shaft, a driven gearrotatably mounted on the second shaft in position to mesh with thedriving gear, a detector roll, of smaller diameter than the gauge roll,located on the second shaft and normally adapted to lie in closeproximity to the gauge roll, and cooperating stop means located betweenthe detector roll and the driven gear and so constructedand arranged asc to permit limited relative movement between the driven roll and thedriven gear for the purpose of relieving friction between the drivinggear and driven gear when a blank is passed between the rolls.

6. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks, a gauge roll drivingshaft, a gauge roll fast on the driving shaft, a driving gear fixed tothe driving shaft at one side of the gauge roll, a second shaftyieldably supported in spaced relation to the driving shaft, a detectorroll, of smaller diameter than the gauge roll, fixed to the secondshaft, a driven gear rotatably mounted on the second shaft in positionto mesh with the driving gear, stop means for limiting rotation of thedriven gear on the second shaft, the stop means including an abutmentprojecting radially outward from said second shaft, and a secondabutment projecting axially outward from a side of the driven gear intothe path of movement of the first abutment.

CHARLES C'. THOMAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 993,570 Webster May 30, 19111,432,954 Berthold Oct. 24, 1922 1,606,964 Sexauer Nov, 16, 19261,738,818 Cogswell Dec. 10, 1929 1,790,559 Swift Jan. 27, 1931 1,820,010Cogswell Aug. 25, 1931 2,099,359 Woodeson et a1 Nov. 16, 1937 2,281,771Johnston May 5, 1942 2,366,205 Metcalf Jan. 2, 1945

